Mapping the History of Cultural Philanthropy in Washington, D.C.

This summer, a team of four interns from Harvard University is working on the initial phase of a long-term research project at Dumbarton Oaks that will aim to map the landscape and history of cultural institutions in the nation’s capital. In a half-dozen case studies of D.C.-area cultural institutions—from the earliest attempts to transform William Wilson Corcoran’s painting collection into a national gallery to Andrew and Paul Mellon’s successful establishment of the National Gallery of Art—the group is exploring the ways in which the collecting philosophies and aesthetic preoccupations of private collectors influenced and continue to shape the educational missions of the museums and galleries that they created. Read more about this project in the words of intern Joy Wang—and find out about other summer interns’ projects—on our internship blog.